Wildlife Circus

Note: Zuihitsu is a Japanese style of literature that can drift like a cloud or read like a song. It comprises a number of loosely connected themes, often featuring poetry inserts, expressing typical Japanese themes, such as nature and the changing seasons. Here 'Tolworth Day' (29.7.19) and  Tolworth Court Farm, are connected to lines found in John Clare's poems.  1. The trickling brook veins sparkling to the sun J.C. Actually there are two rivers here: the Hogsmill rising east to west from its spring ponds, boldly crosses the county boundary from Surrey into London at Tolworth; and the Bonesgate rising unseen, with two sediment laden arms, somewhere between  Chessington's farms and roads, only traced in places by  power and tree lines. A Guardian article (2015) attests that its  named from the resting place of London's  plague victims, but it seems only part of the story, due to its inaccessible location. Bonesgate sediment     2. The bla...

Lucy reading William Blake    Drove roads often followed ancient trackways and sometimes ran parallel to turnpikes in order to avoid paying tolls. Drove roads were nearly 20m  in width and were often hedged to prevent animals straying into local  herds, and from damaging  cultivated crops. The routes were sometimes way marked with evergreen trees - easily visible at all times of the year - and included holly, laurel, yew,  growing freely above the hedge line.  Scots pine and larch were also used as way marks along the route and clumps of these trees also denoted stopping places at inns and farms, the word 'clump' being associated with drover's roads. Lucy reading 'Pylons' just before the kestrel appeared  Droving  inns were  called 'butts' and had adjoining paddocks of about 8 acres where the animals rested on their journey. Tree lined ponds were also situated along the route for the watering of animals. Drove roads are o...

Jet ant It was a splendid day, and eventually, I found the ancient oak tree with its processing jet ants. However, I felt exhausted after three hours of engine noise from the direction of  Great Hollands field - the one closest to Jubilee Way car park- made worse by the fact that I was in Great Meadow field - its polar opposite. Eventually the noise found me, as young motorcyclists - looking more like they should be on a beach- began tearing up and down the newly mown pathways, outstripping the noise of the drones being flown.   Attilla is allowed allowed?     No-one has landowner permission to fly drones on Tolworth Court Farm. I know this, as I checked with a council officer who said, 'no-one has permission to fly drones on Tolworth Court Farm'.  In fact, despite being named Atilla, the only vehicles allowed on TCF are the grasscutters.   Motorcycles not allowed     After three hours of noise and 25 degrees of sun, it was becom...